Improved skate



vUNITE@ STATES PATENT @Errea WILLIAM HAwKINs, 0F BIRMINGHAM,CONNECTICUT.

IMPROVED SKATE.

Specification forming part of' Letters Patent No. l 7,0E', dated March28, 1865.

To all whom it may concern.'

Be it known that l, TILLIAM HAwKINs, of Birmingham, of New Haven county,in the State of Connecticut, have invented certain new and usefulImprovements in Skates and I do hereby declare that the following' is afull and exact description thereof, reference being had to theaccompanying drawings, making part of this application.

My invention relates to that class of skates in which the stock issecured to the boot of the skate by means of a toe-piece, or lip, whichprojects or laps slightly over the toe of the boot, and a screw-clampingdevice which takes hold of the heel of theboot, such as patented April12, 1859, to D. H. Shirley, of Boston, Massachusetts, and subsequentlyimproved by him. In this kind of skate (patented as aforesaid) the heelof the boot of the skater is gripped and held fast between points whichproject longitudinally backward from the skate stock (and pierce orenter the inner or plane vertical face of the boot-heel) and thevertical leg or portion of an angular slide which moves longitudinallyin the rear portion of the skate, and which is moved by a thumb-screw,as fully set forth in the patents granted to Shirley, April 12, 1862,and June 25, 1861. I have learned by practice and experience in themanufacture of this kind of skates that a serious objection arises inthe use of them, consequent to the liability of the screw-rod to becomestrained out of shape and to frequently break. This objectionabledefeet, but for the existence of which this kind of skate would be themost desirable, arises from the tendency of the back end of theheelslide or clamping-bar (through which the screw-rod passes) to liftwhen the heel of the boot is clamped tightly, whereby the back end ofthe screw-rod is strained upward and deranged or broken. Another slightobjection or deficiency in this kind of skate is the absence of a prickpoint or points to insure the hold of the slide upon the back of theboot-heel. To supply this want is a simple matter; but I have found byexperience that to comply with this demand for the prick point or pointsin the heel-slide to insure its grip upon the heel of the boot rendersthe skate more liable to the Inore serious objection beforementioned-viz., the tendency of the clamping-slide to strain and breakthe screw. To overcome these objections is the object of my invention,which consists in so constructing and arranging together the slidingheellclamp and the skate-stock that the slide shall be held down in itsbearings by the stock of the skate instead of being retained in itsproper horizontal position by the screwrod, as heretofore, whereby thescrew-rod is relieved of all lateral strain and I am enabled to' supplythe necessary device for insuring the grip of the sliding upon the rearpart of the boot-heel without any liability of derangement or breakageof the parts of the skate.

To enable those skilled in the art to make and use my invention, I willproceed to describe the construction and operation of my improved skate,referring by letters to the accompanying dra-wings, in which- Figure 1is a side elevation of one of my improved skates. Fig. 2 is a partialtop view of the same Fig. 3 is a vertical section at the line m Fig. 2;and Fig. 4 is a crosssection at the line y y of Fig. 2.

In the several views the same part is designated by the same letter ofreference.

A is the metallic stock of the skate, which is secured by rivets 't' i,&c., to the runner B in the usual manner. C C are the points whichpierce the inner face of the bootheel, and T is the toe-piece, all ofwhich parts are constructed and combined (with the exception of a slightchange in the form of the stock at the heel end) in the same manner asheretofore manufactured by me under Shirleys patents. E is the slidingheel-clamp, and D the thumb-screw by which it is moved, said screw-rod Dbeing formed and arranged to work in a nut eut in the stock at N, asheretofore. Instead of forming the rear portion, A, of the stock with alongitudinal depression or cavity tapering from its bottom to the top(in cross-section) and making the slide to correspond with such shapeddepression, I make the depression or cavity in A with a longitudinal,11, groove on either side near the top surface of stock A', and theslide E with a correspondingly-shaped rib or way on each side, asclearly seen at g g. By thus forming the slide E and the cavity or seat,(in the stock A,) in which it fits and works longitudinally, the saidslide E, it willbe seen,is securelyheld in its proper plane or relativeposition with the stock A independently of the screw-rod D, which simplyworks through the hole formed for its accommodation in said slide E, andperforms only the function of a set-screw to set up or move forward theslide E.

I have thought of so c mstrtictirg the stock A with a bar projectingover the top of the screw-rod D as to effect the bracing or holding downofthe said rod at a point as far from the nut N as the play of the slidewould adit of; but I believe the so forming the slide and stock as todovetail or interlock, as already explained, s0 that the slide will beretained vertically or held down independently of the screwrod, is themost desirable plan. h is a prick-point on the inner face ofthe verticalleg or portion of clamp E, to insure the hold or grip of said clamp uponthe boot-heel.

The operation of the skate in its application to and use on the boot ofthe skater is the same as that heretofore manufactured by me under theShirley patents, except the avoidance of the great objections heretoforeexistant and ei'ectuall y overcome by my improvement.

' It will be understood that very many moditications of my invention maybe conceived and adopted without departing from its spirit.

The slide and stock may be varied in form, or separate devices may beemployed in combination therewith to effect the interlocking of theslide and stock, so as to avoid the objections which existed previous toniyimprovement and to accomplish all the advantages gained by myinvention 5 but it will be obvious that all such colorable changes willinvolve the gist ot' my invention, whfeh rests in the ideaot' lockingthe slide vertically in its proper relative position with stock, inwhich it is seated, while it is left free to move longitudinally, andthus relieve the screw of (lateral) vertical strain and avoid anytendency t0 derangement or destruction of the screw or nut or slide.

Having fully explained my invention, what l claim as new, and desire tosecure by Letters Patent, is-

So constructing a skate that the sliding heel-clamp shall be held orretained vertically within the seat or bearing formed for it in thestock independently of the set-screw, as and for the purposessubstantially set forth.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand and sea-l.

VILLIAI IIAW'KINS.

In presence of- UHARLns F. OoL'r, FITCH SMITH.

